To start from the very begging and give a quick recap I met M during my first week in country almost one year ago. Our team leader had sent us interns out on a neighborhood scavenger hunt to get used to the lay of the land. At the cellphone shop where we were struggling to communicate that we wanted a pre-charge phone card, M came up to us and, in near perfect english, asked if we need any help. We did need help and we've been privileged to have M's help this past year in everything from calling locals on the phone to helping us run errands and moving the girls to new apartments some five or so times. I wonder some times if he regrets asking if we needed help and inviting us for tea that fist day but he's reassured me he doesn't.
Throughout this past year M and I have spent nearly every day together and as a team we've spent about the same amount of time praying for him. M always had something special, aside from my bias of having a local single guy that speaks english to hang out with, M was definitely more helpful and caring for others than most locals. I had a sense that God was working powerfully in his life and that M at the same time was looking. During the year we prayed for M to have dreams of Jesus and he did. Jesus showed up to tell M that He, Jesus, was M's friend and God and that M would start to see him everywhere. M had also been having some intense nightmares and on one occasion there was an opportunity to pray over him and his room and in the name of Jesus claim protection over his sleep. Since that time the bad dreams stopped. This past year M also mentioned to me that he'd love to have a Bible and, he need say no more, he got his Bible and has been reading.
This brings us to this past week. After M's english class on the 6th he walks home with his teacher, our team lead. On the way the topic of Jesus comes up and they end up hanging out a bit at the TL's apartment praying and reading the Bible. It comes to the point where M says to TL that he'd like to follow Jesus and after asking for forgiveness he tells me he leaned back, closed his eyes, and felt the deepest peace he'd ever felt. At the same time though he was later shaking a lot and had trouble walking and making it home. One of the other staff and I had planned to meet with him to pray on the 8th beforehand and so we met. On the 8th we prayed with M and accompanied him in deliverance from spirits that were in him.
Since the 6th M has been through a lot. Over this past week he has been having headaches at night and he's forgot some of the events of the 6th. He is still fully committed to following Jesus but needs direction in what that means. He has also been having visions. He'll be sitting at the same shop where we met and where he's now working and as he sits there he'll get an image of someone coming into the shop and asking for something and four minutes later it will happen exactly as he's seen. This is all very new to him and me and I've encouraged him to pray and seek God as to the meaning of these visions but there still isn't much clarity.
I ask that you join me in praying extra for M in these days. Please be asking God to show M what the visions mean. Be asking that God would be continuing to show M more truth about Him. And please be asking God for and extra measure of protection and guidance moving forward. M is in a difficult position were his choice to follow Jesus could get him killed and this is a concern that we are all very much aware of. At the same time M has a passion for Jesus that he wants to share and I ask that you join me in asking God to provide direction in that as well as a community of support for M that shares his same background.